Display control apparatus and control method therefor, and imaging apparatus and control method therefor

ABSTRACT

A display control apparatus for controlling displaying of a display unit includes an orientation detection unit configured to detect an orientation of the display control apparatus, and a display control unit configured to, when an orientation change from a first orientation to a second orientation of the display control apparatus is detected by the orientation detection unit, perform display control based on the second orientation after the orientation change in a case where a speed of the orientation change is higher than a predetermined speed, and perform display control based on the first orientation even after the orientation change in a case where the speed of the orientation change is lower than or equal to the predetermined speed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to a display controlapparatus and a control method therefor and an imaging apparatus and acontrol method therefor. In particular, the present disclosure relatesto a technique related to control performed based on the orientation ofan apparatus.

Description of the Related Art

There are known conventional imaging apparatuses or display apparatusesthat perform control based on orientation information detected via anorientation detection unit. Such an imaging apparatus can diversifyweighting of light metering evaluation or subject detection or canrecord a shooting orientation in association with a captured image anduse the shooting orientation as an aid in rotational display at the timeof playback. Moreover, such a display apparatus can detect anorientation displayed at the time of playback and change the displayingorientation of an image to be displayed on a display unit.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-312329 discusses an imageprocessing apparatus that performs image rotation processing on capturedimage data based on a result of whether a state of orientation of theapparatus taken at the time of playback and a state of shootingorientation recorded along with the captured image data coincide witheach other, and displays the captured image data in a correctorientation.

On the other hand, some users may desire to view an image in an intendeddisplaying orientation irrespective of a state of orientation of anapparatus used for displaying.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-177819 discusses a mobileterminal apparatus that captures the face image of a user with a cameramounted on the same side as a display unit and rotates the orientationof an image in agreement with the orientation of the face of the user todisplay the image on the display unit.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-150129 discusses a mobileterminal that rotates the orientation of an image to be displayed on adisplay unit, based on the position touched by a hand holding a casing,which is detected by a contact sensor mounted on the back side of thecasing, and the orientation of the casing.

However, the mobile terminal apparatus discussed in Japanese PatentApplication Laid-Open No. 2008-177819 requires a camera used to capturean image of the user and also needs to activate the camera for thepurpose of dealing with the displaying orientation even when displayingan image.

Furthermore, the mobile terminal discussed in Japanese PatentApplication Laid-Open No. 2013-150129 acts only in the case of holdingthe casing in a specified pattern, and cannot deal with various holdingpatterns for the casing.

As mentioned above, conventional techniques may involve an issue inwhich it is not easy to display an image in a displaying orientationintended by the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the present disclosure are generally directed to enablingdisplaying an image in a displaying orientation intended by the user.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a display controlapparatus for controlling displaying of a display unit includes anorientation detection unit configured to detect an orientation of thedisplay control apparatus, and a display control unit configured to,when an orientation change from a first orientation to a secondorientation of the display control apparatus is detected by theorientation detection unit, perform display control based on the secondorientation after the orientation change in a case where a speed of theorientation change is higher than a predetermined speed, and performdisplay control based on the first orientation even after theorientation change in a case where the speed of the orientation changeis lower than or equal to the predetermined speed.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an imagingapparatus includes an orientation detection unit configured to detect anorientation of the imaging apparatus, and a control unit configured to,when an orientation change from a first orientation to a secondorientation of the imaging apparatus is detected by the orientationdetection unit, perform control based on the second orientation afterthe orientation change in a case where a speed of the orientation changeis higher than a predetermined speed, and perform control based on thefirst orientation even after the orientation change in a case where thespeed of the orientation change is lower than or equal to thepredetermined speed.

Further features of the present disclosure will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments with reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 10 illustrate a configuration of a display apparatus.

FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D illustrate an operation of a sensor.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating display control according to a firstexemplary embodiment.

FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C illustrate conditions in which the user views animage.

FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D illustrate examples of display of an image.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, 6D, 6E, and 6F illustrate conditions in which the userviews an image.

FIGS. 7A, 7B, 7C, and 7D illustrate examples of display of an image.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating display control according to a secondexemplary embodiment.

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate changes in position of the display apparatuswith respect to time.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating display control according to a thirdexemplary embodiment.

FIGS. 11A, 11B, 11C, and 11D illustrate examples of display of an image.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Various exemplary embodiments, features, and aspects of the disclosurewill be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. It isto be noted that the following exemplary embodiments are merely examplesfor implementing the present disclosure and can be appropriatelymodified or changed depending on individual configurations and variousconditions of apparatuses to which the present disclosure is applied.Thus, the present disclosure is in no way limited to the followingexemplary embodiments.

In a first exemplary embodiment, an example is described in which adisplay control apparatus is applied to a display apparatus. Herein, thedisplay apparatus is an apparatus portable by users, and can be, forexample, a mobile-phone terminal, such as a smartphone.

FIG. 1A illustrates a schematic configuration of a display apparatus100.

The display apparatus 100 includes, among others, a control unit 101, apower switch 102, a sensor 103, an image display button 104, anoperation switch 105, a memory 106, a recording medium 107, a displayunit 108, a touch panel 109, an imaging unit 110, a movement detectiondevice 111, and a timer counter 112.

The control unit 101, which is, for example, a central processing unit(CPU), controls the entirety of the display apparatus 100. The powerswitch 102 can be pressed by the user to power on and off the displayapparatus 100. The sensor 103, which is at least one of, for example, anacceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, and a geomagnetic sensor, outputs anorientation of the display apparatus 100. The image display button 104can be pressed by the user to display an image or a menu screen on thedisplay unit 108. The operation switch 105 can be pressed by the user toperform various settings. As used herein, the term “unit” generallyrefers to any combination of hardware, firmware, software or othercomponent, such as circuitry, that is used to effectuate a purpose.

The memory 106, which is, for example, a volatile memory such as arandom access memory (RAM), temporarily stores, for example, image data,characters, and graphics to be displayed, or temporarily stores resultsof computation performed by the control unit 101. The recording medium107, which is, for example, a nonvolatile memory such as a semiconductormemory, records data and programs used for control, or records imagedata. The recording medium 107 is an example of a recording unit, and,specifically, can be an electrically erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EEPROM) or a flash read-only memory (ROM). Moreover, therecording medium 107 can be attachable to and detachable from thedisplay apparatus 100. The display unit 108, which is, for example, athin-film transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display, displays, forexample, an image and a menu screen.

The touch panel 109, which is located on the display surface of thedisplay unit 108, detects a touch or access operation on the displayunit 108 performed by the user with the finger, pen, or the like. Theimaging unit 110 captures a still image or a moving image. Furthermore,in the first to third exemplary embodiments, the imaging unit 110 can beomitted. The movement detection device 111 detects position informationabout the display apparatus 100 and sends the position information tothe control unit 101. The movement detection device 111 can be, forexample, a device capable of acquiring the absolute position byreceiving a radio wave compliant with, for example, the GlobalPositioning System (GPS) or Wi-Fi (the predetermined wireless local areanetwork (LAN) standard), or a device capable of acquiring the relativeposition, such as a gyro sensor or an acceleration sensor. Moreover, themovement detection device 111 is not limited to one in number, and canbe obtained by combining the above-mentioned devices or sensors.Additionally, in the first exemplary embodiment, the movement detectiondevice 111 can be omitted. The timer counter 112 acquires timeinformation. While, in the present exemplary embodiment, the timercounter 112 is included in the control unit 101, this is not limiting,and the timer counter 112 can be separate from the control unit 101 andbe connected to the control unit 101 via external connection.

FIG. 1B illustrates an appearance configuration of the side on which thedisplay unit 108 is mounted (the front side) of the display apparatus100. Moreover, the constituent members mentioned above with reference toFIG. 1A are assigned the respective same reference numerals, and thedescription thereof is omitted as appropriate.

As illustrated in FIG. 1B, at the central portion of the displayapparatus 100, the display unit 108, which is rectangular, is locatedand the touch panel 109 is also located in such a way as to be able todetect a touch operation on the display surface of the display unit 108.Furthermore, in the display apparatus 100, the power switch 102 islocated at the right side thereof, and the operation switch 105 islocated below the display unit 108.

FIG. 1C illustrates an appearance configuration of the back side of thedisplay apparatus 100. Thus, the power switch 102 appears to be locatedon the observers' left. Moreover, in the display apparatus 100, theimaging unit 110 is located at the slightly upper portion of the backside.

Furthermore, the outer shape of the display apparatus 100 itself is avertically-long rectangle with long sides and short sides. Moreover, theouter shape of the display unit 108 is also a rectangle with long sidesand short sides. Typically, the orientation of the display apparatus 100illustrated in FIG. 1B is called the vertical orientation, and theorientation obtained by rotating the display apparatus 100 90° from thecondition illustrated in FIG. 1B is called the horizontal orientation.In the present exemplary embodiment, the case where the displayapparatus 100 is in the vertical orientation is referred to as the casewhere it is in the normal position.

Next, an operation of the sensor 103 for outputting an orientation ofthe display apparatus 100 is described. Herein, a case is described inwhich the sensor 103 is a biaxial acceleration sensor. Moreover, thesensor 103 can be a triaxial acceleration sensor.

The sensor 103 produces two outputs for X-axis and Y-axis. Herein, theX-axis is an axis which is parallel to the display surface and is alsoparallel to the short sides of the outer shape of the display apparatus100. Moreover, the Y-axis is an axis which is parallel to the displaysurface and is also parallel to the long sides of the outer shape of thedisplay apparatus 100.

FIGS. 2A to 2D illustrate an operation of the sensor 103. FIGS. 2A to 2Dalso illustrate outputs of the sensor 103 obtained when the orientationof the display apparatus 100 is changed. Herein, the X-axis and Y-axisare indicated by dashed arrows, and the length of each dashed arrow isset to “1”, which is the maximum level with respect to gravity. On theother hand, the outputs for X-axis and Y-axis of the sensor 103 areindicated by solid arrows, and the length of each solid arrowcorresponds to an output value. The control unit 101 detects theorientation of the display apparatus 100 based on the output value ofthe sensor 103.

FIG. 2A illustrates an output of the sensor 103 obtained when thedisplay apparatus 100 is held in the vertical orientation. Asillustrated in FIG. 2A, when the display apparatus 100 is in thevertical orientation, the output value for Y-axis is approximately “−1”.On the other hand, the output value for X-axis is approximately “0”.Thus, the control unit 101 determines that the angle of the displayapparatus 100 is 90° and the display apparatus 100 is in the verticalorientation based on the output values for X-axis and Y-axis.

FIG. 2B illustrates an output of the sensor 103 obtained when thedisplay apparatus 100 is slightly slanted. As illustrated in FIG. 2B,when the display apparatus 100 is slanted, the output value for X-axisand the output value for Y-axis have approximately the same value. Thus,the control unit 101 determines that the angle of the display apparatus100 is 135° based on the output values for X-axis and Y-axis having thesame value.

FIG. 2C illustrates an output of the sensor 103 obtained when thedisplay apparatus 100 is held in the horizontal orientation, morespecifically, when the power switch 102 appears to be located above.When the display apparatus 100 is in the horizontal orientation asillustrated in FIG. 2C, the output value for X-axis is approximately“−1”. On the other hand, the output value for Y-axis is approximately“0”. Thus, the control unit 101 determines that the angle of the displayapparatus 100 is 180° and the display apparatus 100 is in the horizontalorientation based on the output values for X-axis and Y-axis. Moreover,for ease of illustration, this orientation is referred to as a“one-direction horizontal orientation”.

FIG. 2D illustrates an output of the sensor 103 obtained when thedisplay apparatus 100 is held in the horizontal orientation, morespecifically, when the power switch 102 appears to be located below.When the display apparatus 100 is in the horizontal orientation asillustrated in FIG. 2D, the output value for X-axis is approximately“1”. On the other hand, the output value for Y-axis is approximately“0”. Thus, the control unit 101 determines that the angle of the displayapparatus 100 is 0° and the display apparatus 100 is in the horizontalorientation based on the output values for X-axis and Y-axis. Moreover,for ease of illustration, this orientation is referred to as an“other-direction horizontal orientation”.

Next, display control of the display apparatus 100 is described withreference to the flowchart of FIG. 3. The flowchart illustrated in FIG.3 is implemented by the control unit 101 loading a program recorded onthe recording medium 107 onto the memory 106 and executing the program.Moreover, the flowchart of FIG. 3 is started in response to aninstruction to display, on the display unit 108, an image recorded onthe recording medium 107.

In step S301, the control unit 101 resets a counter n to “0”, which isan initial value, and stores the value in the memory 106.

In step S302, the control unit 101 acquires current time Time from thetimer counter 112, substitutes the current time Time into a variable oftime t(n), and stores the variable of time t(n) in the memory 106.

In step S303, the control unit 101 acquires the angle of the displayapparatus 100 based on the outputs of the sensor 103. More specifically,the control unit 101 acquires an angle Angle of the display apparatus100 by calculating the angle Angle based on the output values for X-axisand Y-axis output from the sensor 103. The control unit 101 substitutesthe acquired angle Angle into a variable of angle a(n), and stores thevariable of angle a(n) in the memory 106.

In steps S304 to S307, the control unit 101 detects the orientation ofthe display apparatus 100 based on the angle of the display apparatus100. This processing corresponds to an example of processing performedby an orientation detection unit. Here, the control unit 101, in stepS304, calculates “cos(a(n))” using the variable of angle a(n), and, insteps S305 to S307, detects the orientation based on the value obtainedby calculating “cos(a(n))”.

More specifically, if the value of the “cos(a(n))” is less than−1/√2(cos(a(n))<−1/√2), the processing proceeds to step S305, in whichthe control unit 101 determines that the orientation of the displayapparatus 100 is the one-direction horizontal orientation (typically,the orientation illustrated in FIG. 2C). Accordingly, the control unit101 displays content such as an image (hereinafter referred to simply asan “image”) on the display unit 108 based on the one-directionhorizontal orientation of the display apparatus 100. In other words, thecontrol unit 101 rotates the image, which has been displayed asillustrated in FIG. 2A, 90° to the right with respect to the displayapparatus 100 and displays the rotated image on the display unit 108.This processing corresponds to an example of processing performed by adisplay control unit.

Furthermore, if the value of the “cos(a(n))” is equal to or greater than−1/√2 and equal to or less than 1/√2(−1/√2≦cos(a(n))≦1/√2), theprocessing proceeds to step S306, in which the control unit 101determines that the orientation of the display apparatus 100 is thevertical orientation (typically, the orientation illustrated in FIG.2A). Accordingly, the control unit 101 displays the image on the displayunit 108 based on the display apparatus 100 being in the verticalorientation.

Moreover, if the value of the “cos(a(n))” is greater than1/√2(cos(a(n))>1/√2), the processing proceeds to step S307, in which thecontrol unit 101 determines that the orientation of the displayapparatus 100 is the other-direction horizontal orientation (typically,the orientation illustrated in FIG. 2D). Accordingly, the control unit101 displays the image on the display unit 108 based on theother-direction horizontal orientation of the display apparatus 100. Inother words, the control unit 101 rotates the image, which has beendisplayed as illustrated in FIG. 2A, 90° to the left with respect to thedisplay apparatus 100 and displays the rotated image on the display unit108.

Thus, in the present exemplary embodiment, if the variable of angle a(n)is greater than 135°, the one-direction horizontal orientation isdetermined, if it is equal to or greater than 45° and equal to or lessthan 135°, the vertical orientation is determined, and, if it is lessthan 45°, the other-direction horizontal orientation is determined.

Next, in step S308, the control unit 101 acquires current time Time fromthe timer counter 112, and determines whether the current time Time istime at which a time IntervalT for a next counting calculation haselapsed from the variable of time t(n) stored in the memory 106. If thetime IntervalT has not yet elapsed (NO in step S308), the processingwaits until the time IntervalT elapses. If the time IntervalT haselapsed (YES in step S308), the processing proceeds to step S309.

In step S309, the control unit 101 adds “1” to the counter n to startcalculation for a next step.

In step S310, the control unit 101 acquires current time Time from thetimer counter 112, substitutes the current time Time into the variableof time t(n), and stores the variable of time t(n) in the memory 106.

In step S311, as in step S303, the control unit 101 acquires the angleAngle of the display apparatus 100 by calculating the angle Angle basedon the output values output from the sensor 103. The control unit 101substitutes the acquired angle Angle into the variable of angle a(n),and stores the variable of angle a(n) in the memory 106.

In step S312, the control unit 101 determines whether the orientation ofthe display apparatus 100 has changed by an angle larger than apredetermined angle. More specifically, the control unit 101 compares avariable of angle a(n−1) obtained one count before and the currentvariable of angle a(n) stored in step S311 with each other, anddetermines whether the angular difference in orientation of the displayapparatus 100 is greater than a threshold value Ath. Here, the controlunit 101 calculates the absolute value of a value obtained bysubtracting the variable of angle a(n−1) obtained one count before fromthe current variable of angle a(n) stored in step S311. If the angulardifference is greater than the threshold value Ath (YES in step S312),the processing proceeds to step S313.

Furthermore, since processing in step S312 is started when the timeIntervalT has elapsed in step S308, step S312 is provided tosubstantially determine an amount of change per the time IntervalT,i.e., a speed of orientation change. In other words, in step S312, thecontrol unit 101 determines whether the speed of orientation change ofthe display apparatus 100 is higher than a predetermined speed.

Next, processing in steps S313 to S316, which is processing forcontrolling a displaying operation of the display unit 108 according tothe orientation of the display apparatus 100, is similar to theprocessing in steps S304 to S307, and, therefore, the descriptionthereof is omitted.

Furthermore, a case where, in step S312, it is determined that theangular difference is not greater than the threshold value Athcorresponds to a case where the orientation change of the displayapparatus 100 is small during the time IntervalT. In this case (NO instep S312), the processing proceeds to step S317 without passing throughsteps S313 to S316.

In step S317, the control unit 101 determines whether to continuedisplay control. If the control unit 101 determines to continue displaycontrol (YES in step S317), the processing returns to step S308, and, ifthe control unit 101 determines to end display control (NO in stepS317), the processing proceeds to step S318. More specifically, thecontrol unit 101 determines to end display control, for example, in acase where the control unit 101 is instructed by the user via the imagedisplay button 104 to turn off displaying of an image or via the powerswitch 102 to power off the display apparatus 100. On the other hand, ifthe control unit 101 is not instructed via the image display button 104or the power switch 102 for turning off or powering off, the processingreturns to step S308.

In step S318, the control unit 101 turns off the display unit 108, thusending display control.

In this way, according to the present exemplary embodiment, in a casewhere the orientation of the display apparatus 100 has changed with thespeed of orientation change of the display apparatus 100 being higherthan a predetermined speed, the control unit 101 presumes that the userhas consciously changed the orientation of the display apparatus 100,more specifically, has quickly rotated the display apparatus 100 on thespot. In this case, the control unit 101 rotates a displayingorientation of an image with respect to the display apparatus 100, thusperforming display control according to the orientation of the displayapparatus 100 (corresponding to processing in steps S313 to S316).

On the other hand, in a case where the speed of orientation change ofthe display apparatus 100 is not higher than the predetermined speed,i.e., in a case where the user has slowly changed the orientation of thedisplay apparatus 100, the control unit 101 presumes that theorientation change of the display apparatus 100 is an orientation changeassociated with the posture of the user. More specifically, the controlunit 101 presumes that the user has lain down or gotten up while holdingthe display apparatus 100. In this case, the control unit 101 does notrotate a displaying orientation of an image with respect to the displayapparatus 100, thus enabling displaying the image in a displayingorientation intended by the user.

Here, a difference in operation of the display apparatus 100 between acase where the display apparatus 100 is quickly rotated and a case wherethe display apparatus 100 is slowly rotated is described.

FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C illustrate conditions in which the user rotates thedisplay apparatus 100 on the spot and views an image.

FIG. 4A illustrates a condition in which the user is holding the displayapparatus 100 in the vertical orientation, which is the same orientationas that of the display apparatus 100 illustrated in FIG. 2A. Thus, theangle of the display apparatus 100 is 90°.

On the other hand, FIG. 4B illustrates a condition in which, afterquickly rotating the display apparatus 100 from the conditionillustrated in FIG. 4A, the user is holding the display apparatus 100 inthe other-direction horizontal orientation, which is the sameorientation as that of the display apparatus 100 illustrated in FIG. 2D.Thus, the angle of the display apparatus 100 is 0°.

FIG. 4C is a graph illustrating a change in angle of the displayapparatus 100 with respect to time.

Supposing that the time in the condition illustrated in FIG. 4A is timet0 and the time IntervalT is 0.2 seconds, the angle of the displayapparatus 100 is changing in such a manner as to be approximately 70° attime t1, which is 0.2 seconds later, approximately 30° at time t2, whichis 0.4 seconds later, and 0° at time t3, which is 0.6 seconds later.

FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D illustrate examples of display of an imagedisplayed on the display unit 108 when the orientation of the displayapparatus 100 is changed from the condition illustrated in FIG. 4A up tothe condition illustrated in FIG. 4B. Furthermore, shifting from thecondition illustrated in FIG. 4A to the condition illustrated in FIG. 4Busually uses about 0.6 seconds to 1.0 seconds. Here, a description ismade with the assumption that the time IntervalT is 0.2 seconds and thethreshold value Ath is 30°.

FIG. 5A illustrates an example in which an image captured in thehorizontal orientation is displayed on the display unit 108 of thedisplay apparatus 100 held in the vertical orientation. Here, the useris about to rotate the display apparatus 100 in order to view the imagein the horizontal orientation.

FIG. 5B illustrates an example of display on the display unit 108obtained 0.2 seconds after the rotation to the right of the displayapparatus 100 is started from the condition illustrated in FIG. 5A.Here, the angle of the display apparatus 100 is 70°, and the angulardifference from the angle illustrated in FIG. 5A is 20° (i.e.,=90°−70°). In this case, in step S312, the control unit 101 determinesthat the angular difference (20°) is not greater than the thresholdvalue Ath=30° (NO in step S312), and the processing proceeds to stepS317. Accordingly, since the control unit 101 does not perform displaycontrol according to the orientation of the display apparatus 100, asillustrated in FIG. 5B, the displaying orientation of the image withrespect to the display apparatus 100 is the same as that illustrated inFIG. 5A.

FIG. 5C illustrates an example of display on the display unit 108obtained 0.2 seconds after the condition illustrated in FIG. 5B. Here,the angle of the display apparatus 100 is 30°, and the angulardifference from the angle illustrated in FIG. 5B is 40° (i.e.,=70°−30°). In this case, in step S312, the control unit 101 determinesthat the angular difference (40°) is greater than the threshold valueAth=30° (YES in step S312), and the processing proceeds to step S313.Here, the processing proceeds from step S313 to step S316, in which thecontrol unit 101 determines that the orientation of the displayapparatus 100 is the other-direction horizontal orientation, so that thecontrol unit 101 rotates the image, which has been displayed asillustrated in FIG. 5B, 90° to the left with respect to the displayapparatus 100 and displays the rotated image on the display unit 108, asillustrated in FIG. 5C.

FIG. 5D illustrates an example of display on the display unit 108obtained 0.2 seconds after the condition illustrated in FIG. 5C. Here,the angle of the display apparatus 100 is 0°, and the angular differencefrom the angle illustrated in FIG. 5C is 30° (i.e., =30°−0°). In thiscase, in step S312, the control unit 101 determines that the angulardifference (30°) is not greater than the threshold value Ath=30° (NO instep S312), and the processing proceeds to step S317. Accordingly, sincethe control unit 101 does not perform display control according to theorientation of the display apparatus 100, as illustrated in FIG. 5D, thedisplaying orientation of the image with respect to the displayapparatus 100 is the same as that illustrated in FIG. 5C.

In this way, the control unit 101 detects that the orientation of thedisplay apparatus 100 has changed from a first orientation to a secondorientation, and, when determining that the speed of the change inorientation is higher than a predetermined speed, presumes that the userhas consciously changed the orientation of the display apparatus 100. Inthis case, the control unit 101 performs display control based on thesecond orientation after the orientation change. In other words, forexample, in a case where the user has quickly rotated the displayapparatus 100 from the vertical orientation to the horizontalorientation, when the display apparatus 100 has been held in thehorizontal orientation, the control unit 101 rotates an image, which hasbeen displayed in the vertical orientation, 90° with respect to thedisplay apparatus 100 and displays the rotated image. Accordingly, theuser can view the image in an intended displaying orientation.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, 6D, 6E, and 6F illustrate conditions in which the userviews the display apparatus 100 while gradually lying down.

FIG. 6A illustrates a condition in which the user is holding the displayapparatus 100 in the vertical orientation. FIG. 6B illustrates acondition in which the user has begun to lie down. FIG. 6C illustrates acondition in which the user has lain on the user's back. FIG. 6Dillustrates a condition in which the user has turned over slightly onthe user's right side. FIG. 6E illustrates a condition in which the userhas completely turned over (assumed a recumbent posture) on the user'sright side. Furthermore, in the conditions illustrated in FIGS. 6C to6E, from the viewpoint of relative values of the visual line of theuser, it is desirable that the displaying orientation of an image remainthe same as the displaying orientation illustrated in FIG. 6B.

FIG. 6F is a graph illustrating a change in angle of the displayapparatus 100 with respect to time.

Supposing that the time in the condition illustrated in FIG. 6A is timet0 and the time IntervalT is 0.2 seconds, the angle of the displayapparatus 100 is changing in such a manner as to be 0° at time t2, whichis 0.4 seconds later, and time t4, which is 0.8 seconds later, 60° attime t7, which is 1.4 seconds later, and 15° at time t10, which is 2.0seconds later. Furthermore, it is supposed that the time in thecondition illustrated in FIG. 6B is time t2, the time in the conditionillustrated in FIG. 6C is time t4, the time in the condition illustratedin FIG. 6D is time t7, and the time in the condition illustrated in FIG.6E is time t10.

FIGS. 7A, 7B, 7C, and 7D illustrate examples of display of an imagedisplayed on the display unit 108 when the orientation of the displayapparatus 100 is changed from the condition illustrated in FIG. 6C tothe condition illustrated in FIG. 6E. Shifting from the conditionillustrated in FIG. 6C to the condition illustrated in FIG. 6E usuallyuses about 1.0 seconds to 2.0 seconds. Moreover, at this time, a changein output of the acceleration sensor per unit time is weak.

FIG. 7A illustrates an example in which an image captured in thevertical orientation is displayed on the display unit 108 of the displayapparatus 100 held in the vertical orientation. Here, the user is aboutto turn over from lying on the user's back while holding the displayapparatus 100, in order to view the image in a recumbent position.Furthermore, in the condition illustrated in FIG. 6A up to the conditionillustrated in FIG. 6C, since, even when the user lies down, the angleof the display apparatus 100 does not change, the displaying orientationof the image displayed on the display unit 108 remains the same as thedisplaying orientation illustrated in FIG. 7A.

FIG. 7B illustrates an example of display on the display unit 108obtained 0.4 seconds after the condition illustrated in FIG. 7A at timet4, i.e., obtained at time t6. Here, the angle of the display apparatus100 is 60°, and the angular difference from the angle illustrated inFIG. 7A is 30° (i.e., =90°−60°). However, since the angular differencedoes not become greater than the threshold value Ath=30° within 0.2seconds, which is the time IntervalT, the processing does not proceedfrom step S312 to step S313, but proceeds to step S317. Accordingly,since the control unit 101 does not perform display control according tothe orientation of the display apparatus 100, as illustrated in FIG. 7B,the displaying orientation of the image with respect to the displayapparatus 100 is the same as that illustrated in FIG. 7A.

FIG. 7C illustrates an example of display on the display unit 108obtained 0.4 seconds after the condition illustrated in FIG. 7B, i.e.,obtained at time t8. Here, while the angle of the display apparatus 100is 30°, since the angular difference does not become greater than thethreshold value Ath within 0.2 seconds, which is the time IntervalT, asillustrated in FIG. 7C, the displaying orientation of the image withrespect to the display apparatus 100 is the same as that illustrated inFIG. 7B.

FIG. 7D illustrates an example of display on the display unit 108obtained 0.4 seconds after the condition illustrated in FIG. 7C, i.e.,obtained at time t10. Here, while the angle of the display apparatus 100is 15°, since the angular difference does not become greater than thethreshold value Ath within 0.2 seconds, which is the time IntervalT, asillustrated in FIG. 7D, the displaying orientation of the image withrespect to the display apparatus 100 is the same as that illustrated inFIG. 7C.

In this way, the control unit 101 detects that the orientation of thedisplay apparatus 100 has changed from a first orientation to a secondorientation, and, when determining that the speed of the change inorientation is lower than or equal to a predetermined speed, presumesthat the user has changed the orientation of the display apparatus 100along with rotation of the body of the user. In this case, the controlunit 101 performs display control based on the first orientation evenafter the orientation change. In other words, for example, in a casewhere the user has turned over and, thus, the orientation of the displayapparatus 100 has changed from the vertical orientation to thehorizontal orientation, even if the display apparatus 100 is in thehorizontal orientation, the control unit 101 displays an image, whichhas been displayed in the vertical orientation, without changing thedisplaying orientation of the image with respect to the displayapparatus 100. Accordingly, the user can view the image in an intendeddisplaying orientation.

Next, display control according to a second exemplary embodiment isdescribed with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 8. In the presentexemplary embodiment, a case is described in which an image to bedisplayed on the display unit 108 is controlled using positioninformation sent from the movement detection device 111. The flowchartillustrated in FIG. 8 is implemented by the control unit 101 loading aprogram recorded on the recording medium 107 onto the memory 106 andexecuting the program. The flowchart of FIG. 8 is the one obtained byadding processing in steps S801 to S804 to the flowchart of FIG. 3described in the first exemplary embodiment. Accordingly, in theflowchart of FIG. 8, the same steps as those in the flowchart of FIG. 3are assigned the respective same step numbers, and the descriptionthereof is omitted.

In step S801, the control unit 101 detects the position of the displayapparatus 100 by acquiring position information from the movementdetection device 111. This processing corresponds to an example ofprocessing performed by a position detection unit. The control unit 101substitutes the detected position Posit into a variable of positionp(n), and stores the variable in the memory 106. Furthermore, thecontrol unit 101 previously detects positions of the display apparatus100 for two counts prior to the current counter n, substitutes therespective detected positions into a variable p(n−1) and a variablep(n−2), and stores the variables in the memory 106. After that,processing in steps S304 to S311 is the same as in the first exemplaryembodiment.

In step S802, the control unit 101 detects the position of the displayapparatus 100 by acquiring position information from the movementdetection device 111, substitutes the detected position Posit into avariable of position p(n), and stores the variable in the memory 106.

In step S803, the control unit 101 determines whether the orientation ofthe display apparatus 100 has changed by an angle larger than apredetermined angle. More specifically, the control unit 101 compares avariable of angle a(n−3) obtained three counts before and the currentvariable of angle a(n) with each other, and determines whether theangular difference in orientation of the display apparatus 100 isgreater than a threshold value Ath. Here, the control unit 101calculates the absolute value of a value obtained by subtracting thevariable of angle a(n−3) obtained three counts before from the currentvariable of angle a(n). If the angular difference is not greater thanthe threshold value Ath (NO in step S803), the processing proceeds tostep S317, and if the angular difference is greater than the thresholdvalue Ath (YES in step S803), the processing proceeds to step S804.

In step S804, the control unit 101 determines whether the position ofthe display apparatus 100 has changed by an amount larger than apredetermined amount. More specifically, the control unit 101 compares avariable of position p(n−3) obtained three counts before the currentcounter and the current variable of position p(n) with each other, anddetermines whether the amount of movement of the display apparatus 100is larger than a threshold value Pth. Here, the control unit 101calculates the absolute value of a value obtained by subtracting thevariable of position p(n−3) obtained three counts before from thecurrent variable of position p(n). If the control unit 101 determinesthat the amount of movement is larger than the threshold value Pth (YESin step S804), the processing proceeds to step S317. If the control unit101 determines that the amount of movement is not larger than thethreshold value Pth (NO in step S804), the processing proceeds to stepS313. Here, the case where the amount of movement is not larger than thethreshold value Pth is presumed to be a case where the user is rotatingthe display apparatus 100 without moving the display apparatus 100, forexample, quickly rotating the display apparatus 100 on the spot. On theother hand, the case where the amount of movement is larger than thethreshold value Pth is presumed to be a case where the user is quicklyrotating the display apparatus 100 while moving the display apparatus100.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are graphs illustrating changes in position of thedisplay apparatus 100 with respect to time. Here, a description is madewith the assumption that the time IntervalT is 0.2 seconds, thethreshold value Ath is 45°, and the threshold value Pth is 10 cm.

FIG. 9A illustrates positions of the display apparatus 100 taken whenthe user rotates the display apparatus 100 on the spot and views thedisplay apparatus 100 as illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B. As illustratedin FIG. 9A, it is supposed that the time in the condition illustrated inFIG. 4A is time t0, the time 0.2 seconds later is time t1, the time 0.4seconds later is time t2, and the time in the condition illustrated inFIG. 4B is time t3.

As illustrated in FIG. 9A, at any of the times t0 to t3, the displayapparatus 100 moves only about 10 cm, but almost does not move.Accordingly, when the processing proceeds from step S803 to step S804,the control unit 101 determines that the position of the displayapparatus 100 has not changed by an amount larger than the predeterminedamount (NO in step S804), and the processing then proceeds to step S313.Thus, the control unit 101 performs display control to rotate an imagewith respect to the display apparatus 100.

FIG. 9B illustrates positions of the display apparatus 100 taken fromwhen the user begins to lie down to when the user turns over whileholding the display apparatus 100 in the vertical orientation, asillustrated in FIGS. 6A to 6E. As illustrated in FIG. 9B, it is supposedthat the time in the condition illustrated in FIG. 6A is time t0, thetime 0.4 seconds later in the condition illustrated in FIG. 6B is timet2, the time 0.8 seconds later in the condition illustrated in FIG. 6Cis time t4, the time 1.4 seconds later in the condition illustrated inFIG. 6D is time t7, and the time 2.0 seconds later in the conditionillustrated in FIG. 6E is time t10. Moreover, the change in angle of thedisplay apparatus 100 with respect to time is similar to theabove-described one illustrated in FIG. 6F.

Here, in order that the processing proceeds to display controlprocessing in steps S313 to S316, determination is made at least in stepS803 that the angular distance is greater than the threshold value Ath,and, thus, the processing proceeds to step S804. Here, the time at whichit is determined in step S803 the angular distance is greater than thethreshold value Ath is time t7 and subsequent times, as illustrated inFIG. 6F. However, even if the processing proceeds to step S804 in thecase of time t7 or subsequent time, since the amount of movement of thedisplay apparatus 100 is larger than 10 cm, which is the threshold valuePth, as illustrated in FIG. 9B, the processing proceeds to step S317,but does not proceed to display control processing in steps S313 toS316.

Furthermore, at time t10 and subsequent times, although the amount ofmovement of the display apparatus 100 becomes smaller than 10 cm, whichis the threshold value Pth, since no change in orientation of thedisplay apparatus 100 occurs, it is determined in step S803 that theangular difference is less than the threshold value Ath, and thus, theprocessing proceeds to step S317, but does not proceed to step S804.Accordingly, the control unit 101 does not perform display control torotate an image with respect to the display apparatus 100.

In this way, even in a case where the speed of orientation change from afirst orientation to a second orientation of the display apparatus 100is higher than a predetermined speed, when the change in position of thedisplay apparatus 100 is larger than a predetermined amount, it ispresumed that the user has changed the orientation of the displayapparatus 100 along with rotation of the body of the user. In this case,the control unit 101 performs display control based on the firstorientation even after the orientation change. In other words, forexample, even if the user quickly turns over and the orientation of thedisplay apparatus 100 changes from the vertical orientation to thehorizontal orientation, in a case where the movement of the displayapparatus 100 occurs, the control unit 101 displays an image, which hasbeen displayed in the vertical orientation even when the displayapparatus 100 is in the horizontal orientation, without changing thedisplaying orientation of the image with respect to the displayapparatus 100. Accordingly, the user can view the image in an intendeddisplaying orientation.

Furthermore, in the above-described processing, suppose that, in a casewhere the user is in a vehicle that is driving or the user is walking,the user consciously rotates the display apparatus 100 in order tochange the displaying orientation of an image with respect to thedisplay apparatus 100. In this case, since the position of the displayapparatus 100 is changing, the control unit 101 would determine that theamount of movement of the display apparatus 100 is larger than thethreshold value, and thus, the processing does not proceed to theabove-described display control processing in steps S313 to S316, sothat such a situation that the displaying orientation of the imagecannot be changed may occur. Accordingly, in order to exclude such asituation, the control unit 101 determines whether the position of thedisplay apparatus 100 continues changing for longer than a predeterminedtime, and, if the position continues changing for longer than thepredetermined time, presumes that the user is moving and thus omitsprocessing in step S804. Thus, if it is determined in step S803 that theangular difference is greater than the threshold value, the processingcan proceed to step S313.

Moreover, in the above-described exemplary embodiment, a case has beendescribed in which the control unit 101 acquires the angle of thedisplay apparatus 100 at intervals of unit time and, if the orientationof the display apparatus 100 has changed by an angle larger than apredetermined angle, proceeds to processing for determining whether theamount of movement of the display apparatus 100 is larger than athreshold value. However, this case is not limiting, but, for example,when the angle of the display apparatus 100 has changed by an anglelager than the predetermined angle, the control unit 101 can checkwhether no change in position of the display apparatus 100 has occurred.In this way, detecting a change in position of the display apparatus 100as well as detecting the orientation of the display apparatus 100enables accurately presuming the state of the display apparatus 100 anddisplaying an image in a displaying orientation intended by the user.

Next, display control according to a third exemplary embodiment isdescribed with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 10. In the presentexemplary embodiment, processing of hysteresis in display control isadded to the flowchart of FIG. 3 described in the first exemplaryembodiment. The flowchart illustrated in FIG. 10 is implemented by thecontrol unit 101 loading a program recorded on the recording medium 107onto the memory 106 and executing the program. Furthermore, theflowchart of FIG. 10 is the one obtained by replacing processing insteps S313 to S316 in the flowchart of FIG. 3 described in the firstexemplary embodiment by processing in steps S1001 to S1009. Accordingly,in the flowchart of FIG. 10, the same steps as those in the flowchart ofFIG. 3 are assigned the respective same step numbers, and thedescription thereof is omitted.

In step S1001 following step S312, the control unit 101 determineswhether the display apparatus 100 is currently in the verticalorientation. If the control unit 101 determines that the displayapparatus 100 is in the vertical orientation (YES in step S1001), theprocessing proceeds to step S1002. If the control unit 101 determinesthat the display apparatus 100 is in the horizontal orientation (NO instep S1001), the processing proceeds to step S1006. Processing in stepsS1002 to S1005 and processing in steps S1006 to S1009 are processing forcontrolling displaying on the display unit 108 according to theorientation of the display apparatus 100.

In step S1002, the control unit 101 calculates “cos(a(n))” using thevariable of angle a(n), and, in steps S1003 to S1005, the control unit101 detects the orientation based on the value obtained by calculating“cos(a(n))”. While, in the first exemplary embodiment, the value of“cos(a(n))” is determined based on determination values 1/√2 and −1/√2,in a case where the display apparatus 100 is in the verticalorientation, the value of “cos(a(n))” is determined based ondetermination values A1 and −A1. Here, the determination value A1 is avalue slightly larger than the determination value 1/√2, and is, forexample, 0.8 to 0.9.

On the other hand, also in step S1006, the control unit 101 calculates“cos(a(n))” using the variable of angle a(n), and, in steps S1007 toS1009, the control unit 101 detects the orientation based on the valueobtained by calculating “cos(a(n))”. While, in the first exemplaryembodiment, the value of “cos(a(n))” is determined based ondetermination values 1/√2 and −1/√2, in a case where the displayapparatus 100 is in the horizontal orientation, the value of “cos(a(n))”is determined based on determination values A2 and −A2. Here, thedetermination value A2 is a value slightly smaller than thedetermination value 1/√2, and is, for example, 0.3 to 0.4.

Accordingly, more specifically, when the orientation of the displayapparatus 100 changes from the vertical orientation to the horizontalorientation, unless the angle of the display apparatus 100 becomes anangle approximate to 0° or 180°, it is not determined that the displayapparatus 100 is in the horizontal orientation. Conversely, when theorientation of the display apparatus 100 changes from the horizontalorientation to the vertical orientation, unless the angle of the displayapparatus 100 becomes an angle approximate to 90°, it is not determinedthat the display apparatus 100 is in the vertical orientation.

FIGS. 11A, 11B, 11C, and 11D illustrate examples of display of an imagedisplayed on the display unit 108 when the orientation of the displayapparatus 100 is changed from the condition illustrated in FIG. 4A tothe condition illustrated in FIG. 4B. The conditions illustrated inFIGS. 11A to 11D are described while being contrasted with theconditions illustrated in FIGS. 5A to 5D described in the firstexemplary embodiment.

In the conditions illustrated in FIGS. 11A and 11B, the image isdisplayed in the same manner as in the conditions illustrated in FIGS.5A and 5B.

FIG. 11C illustrates an example of display on the display unit 108 whenthe display apparatus 100 has been further rotated to the right from thecondition illustrated in FIG. 11B. While, in FIG. 5C, an image obtainedby rotating the image 90° to the left with respect to the displayapparatus 100 is displayed on the display unit 108, the displayingorientation of the image with respect to the display apparatus 100 inFIG. 11C is the same as in FIG. 11B.

FIG. 11D illustrates an example of display on the display unit 108 whenthe display apparatus 100 has been further rotated to the right from thecondition illustrated in FIG. 11C. The control unit 101 determines thatthe angle of the display apparatus 100 is approximate to 0° and thedisplay apparatus 100 is in the horizontal orientation, and rotates theimage, which has been displayed as illustrated in FIG. 11C, 90° to theleft with respect to the display apparatus 100 and displays the rotatedimage on the display unit 108.

In this way, a determination value (angle) based on which the horizontalorientation is determined when the display apparatus 100 changes fromthe vertical orientation to the horizontal orientation and adetermination value (angle) based on which the vertical orientation isdetermined when the display apparatus 100 changes from the horizontalorientation to the vertical orientation are made different from eachother. Accordingly, even if the display apparatus 100 is used in such amanner that the angle thereof changes frequently and the output of thesensor 103 varies, the displaying orientation of an image can beprevented from changing frequently, so that image visibility can beimproved.

In a fourth exemplary embodiment, a case is described in which theimaging unit 110 is used to apply the display control apparatus as animaging apparatus. Here, the imaging apparatus is, for example, adigital camera. The imaging apparatus is able to, based on determinedorientation information, append the orientation information to acaptured image, perform rotation processing on the image, and record theprocessed image. In the present exemplary embodiment, among theprocessing operations in the flowchart of FIG. 3 and the flowchart ofFIG. 8, processing in steps S305 to S307 and processing in steps S314 toS316 are changed as described below. Furthermore, in processing in stepsS305 to S307 and processing in steps S314 to S316, displaying on thedisplay unit 108 does not need to be controlled according to theorientation of the display apparatus 100, and control is performedmainly to detect the orientation of the imaging apparatus.

In step S305, the control unit 101 stores orientation informationcorresponding to the one-direction horizontal orientation in the memory106. Furthermore, the control unit 101 displays, on the display unit108, an orientation icon, which indicates the detected orientation, in adisplay form associated with the one-direction horizontal orientation.The control unit 101, when receiving an instruction for shooting fromthe user in the above-mentioned state, records, on the recording medium107, an image captured by the imaging unit 110. At this time, thecontrol unit 101 appends orientation information, which indicates thatthe imaging apparatus has been in the one-direction horizontalorientation, as attribute information to the image, and records theimage with the orientation information appended thereto. Alternatively,the control unit 101 rotates the image to an angle corresponding to theone-direction horizontal orientation, and records the rotated image.

In step S306, the control unit 101 stores orientation informationcorresponding to the vertical orientation in the memory 106.Furthermore, the control unit 101 displays, on the display unit 108, anorientation icon, which indicates the detected orientation, in a displayform associated with the vertical orientation. The control unit 101,when receiving an instruction for shooting from the user in theabove-mentioned state, records, on the recording medium 107, an imagecaptured by the imaging unit 110. At this time, the control unit 101appends orientation information, which indicates that the imagingapparatus has been in the vertical orientation, as attribute informationto the image, and records the image with the orientation informationappended thereto. Alternatively, the control unit 101 rotates the imageto an angle corresponding to the vertical orientation, and records therotated image.

In step S307, the control unit 101 stores orientation informationcorresponding to the other-direction horizontal orientation in thememory 106. Furthermore, the control unit 101 displays, on the displayunit 108, an orientation icon, which indicates the detected orientation,in a display form associated with the other-direction horizontalorientation. The control unit 101, when receiving an instruction forshooting from the user in the above-mentioned state, records, on therecording medium 107, an image captured by the imaging unit 110. At thistime, the control unit 101 appends orientation information, whichindicates that the imaging apparatus has been in the other-directionhorizontal orientation, as attribute information to the image, andrecords the image with the orientation information appended thereto.Alternatively, the control unit 101 rotates the image to an anglecorresponding to the other-direction horizontal orientation, and recordsthe rotated image.

Moreover, processing in steps S314 to S316 is also similar to processingin steps S305 to S307. These processing operations correspond to anexample of processing performed by a control unit.

Here, suppose a case where the user is moving the imaging apparatus insuch a way as to cause a moving subject to fall within a shooting range.In the case of an imaging apparatus to which the first exemplaryembodiment is applied, if a change in orientation of the imagingapparatus changes is relatively slow, the control unit 101 does notproceed to processing for detecting the orientation of the imagingapparatus. Accordingly, images captured during a period in which theorientation of the imaging apparatus is changing slowly are providedwith the same orientation information to be appended thereto, and theimages with the same orientation information appended thereto arerecorded. Furthermore, in the case of an imaging apparatus to which thesecond exemplary embodiment is applied, even in a case where theorientation of the imaging apparatus has quickly changed, if theposition of the imaging apparatus is moving to a great extent, thecontrol unit 101 does not proceed to processing for detecting theorientation of the imaging apparatus. Accordingly, images capturedduring a period in which the imaging apparatus is moving are providedwith the same orientation information to be appended thereto, and theimages with the same orientation information appended thereto arerecorded.

According to the present exemplary embodiment, when a captured image isdisplayed on the display unit 108, a subject included in the image canbe prevented from being displayed in a displaying orientation that isnot intended by the user. Here, for example, suppose a case of capturingimages of a subject, such as an airplane taking off, by continuousshooting while following the airplane. In a case where the presentexemplary embodiment is not applied, as the user moves the imagingapparatus in such a way as to gradually look up, the control unit 101determines that the orientation of the imaging apparatus has changed onthe way and re-detects the orientation of the imaging apparatus, so thata plurality of images captured by continuous shooting may be providedwith pieces of orientation information different on the way to beappended thereto. Accordingly, in a case where a plurality of imagescaptured by continuous shooting is viewed, the displaying orientation ofimages may change over on the way, so that the orientation of the imagedairplane may abruptly become an orientation different 90° from that ofthe preceding image. On the other hand, in a case where the presentexemplary embodiment is applied, even if a slow orientation change orquick orientation change occurs, as long as it is an orientation changeinvolving movement, the control unit 101 does not change orientationinformation on the imaging apparatus, so that, even when a plurality ofimages is viewed, the images can be viewed in a displaying orientationintended by the user.

While some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure have beendescribed above, the disclosure should not been construed to be limitedto such specific exemplary embodiments, and various embodimentsimplemented without departing from the gist of the disclosure are alsoincluded in the disclosure. Furthermore, the above-described exemplaryembodiments are merely some exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, andall or some of the exemplary embodiments can be combined as appropriate.

Although, in the above-described exemplary embodiments, a case has beendescribed in which the power switch 102, the operation switch 105, andother switches are located at predetermined positions, this case islimiting. For example, the power switch 102, the operation switch 105,and other switches can be located at any positions of the displayapparatus 100, and can be, for example, switches that are displayed onthe display unit 108 and are operable via the touch panel 109.

Although, in the above-described exemplary embodiments, cases have beendescribed in which the display apparatus 100 is applied to a mobilephone terminal and the imaging apparatus is applied to a digital camera,these cases are not limiting, and the disclosure can also be applied toan instrument capable of detecting the orientation of an apparatus. Forexample, the disclosure can be applied to a tablet terminal, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a portable image viewer, a digital photo frame,a music player, a game machine, and an electronic book reader.

Although, in the above-described exemplary embodiments, a case has beendescribed in which a still image is processed, a moving image can alsobe processed in a similar way.

Furthermore, a control operation of the control unit 101 can beperformed by a single piece of hardware, or control over the entireapparatus can be performed with processing shared by a plurality ofpieces of hardware.

According to exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, an image can bedisplayed in a displaying orientation intended by the user.

Other Embodiments

Embodiments of the present disclosure can also be realized by a computerof a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computer executableinstructions recorded on a storage medium (e.g., non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium) to perform the functions of one ormore of the above-described embodiment(s) of the present disclosure, andby a method performed by the computer of the system or apparatus by, forexample, reading out and executing the computer executable instructionsfrom the storage medium to perform the functions of one or more of theabove-described embodiment(s). The computer may comprise one or more ofa central processing unit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU), or othercircuitry, and may include a network of separate computers or separatecomputer processors. The computer executable instructions may beprovided to the computer, for example, from a network or the storagemedium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or more of ahard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), astorage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as acompact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™),a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.

While the present disclosure has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims the benefit of priority from Japanese PatentApplication No. 2015-197907 filed Oct. 5, 2015, which is herebyincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. A display control apparatus for controllingdisplaying of a display unit, the display control apparatus comprising:an orientation detection unit configured to detect an orientation of thedisplay control apparatus; and a display control unit configured to,when an orientation change from a first orientation to a secondorientation of the display control apparatus is detected by theorientation detection unit, perform display control based on the secondorientation after the orientation change in a case where a speed of theorientation change is higher than a predetermined speed, and performdisplay control based on the first orientation even after theorientation change in a case where the speed of the orientation changeis lower than or equal to the predetermined speed.
 2. The displaycontrol apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a positiondetection unit configured to detect a position of the display controlapparatus, wherein, when the orientation change from the firstorientation to the second orientation of the display control apparatusis detected by the orientation detection unit, even in a case where thespeed of the orientation change is higher than the predetermined speed,the display control unit performs the display control based on the firstorientation even after the orientation change in a case where a changein position larger than a predetermined amount is detected by theposition detection unit during the orientation change.
 3. The displaycontrol apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, when the orientationchange from the first orientation to the second orientation of thedisplay control apparatus is detected by the orientation detection unit,the display control unit performs the display control based on thesecond orientation after the orientation change in a case where thespeed of the orientation change is higher than the predetermined speedand a change in position of the display control apparatus iscontinuously detected by the position detection unit.
 4. The displaycontrol apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the position detectionunit detects the position of the display control apparatus based on atleast one of a radio wave compliant with Global Positioning System (GPS)or wireless network communication and outputs from an accelerationsensor and a gyro sensor.
 5. The display control apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein a displaying orientation of an image with respect tothe display unit differs between the display control performed based onthe first orientation and the display control performed based on thesecond orientation.
 6. The display control apparatus according to claim1, wherein the first orientation is a vertical orientation, and thesecond orientation is a horizontal orientation, and wherein a displayingorientation of an image with respect to the display unit differs 90°between the display control performed based on the first orientation andthe display control performed based on the second orientation.
 7. Thedisplay control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an angle basedon which a displaying orientation of an image with respect to thedisplay unit is changed to a different displaying orientation differsbetween a case where the orientation change from the first orientationto the second orientation occurs and a case where the orientation changefrom the second orientation to the first orientation occurs.
 8. Thedisplay control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the orientationdetection unit detects the orientation of the display control apparatusbased on at least one of outputs from an acceleration sensor, a gyrosensor, and a geomagnetic sensor.
 9. A control method for a displaycontrol apparatus for controlling displaying of a display unit, thecontrol method comprising: detecting an orientation of the displaycontrol apparatus; and when an orientation change from a firstorientation to a second orientation of the display control apparatus isdetected, performing display control based on the second orientationafter the orientation change in a case where a speed of the orientationchange is higher than a predetermined speed, and performing displaycontrol based on the first orientation even after the orientation changein a case where the speed of the orientation change is lower than orequal to the predetermined speed.
 10. An imaging apparatus comprising:an orientation detection unit configured to detect an orientation of theimaging apparatus; and a control unit configured to, when an orientationchange from a first orientation to a second orientation of the imagingapparatus is detected by the orientation detection unit, perform controlbased on the second orientation after the orientation change in a casewhere a speed of the orientation change is higher than a predeterminedspeed, and perform control based on the first orientation even after theorientation change in a case where the speed of the orientation changeis lower than or equal to the predetermined speed.
 11. The imagingapparatus according to claim 10, wherein the control performed based onthe first orientation and the control performed based on the secondorientation are control for appending orientation information indicatingrespective different orientations to a captured image.
 12. The imagingapparatus according to claim 10, wherein the control performed based onthe first orientation and the control performed based on the secondorientation are control for rotating a captured image to respectivedirections corresponding to the first orientation and the secondorientation and recording the rotated image.
 13. The imaging apparatusaccording to claim 10, wherein the control performed based on the firstorientation and the control performed based on the second orientationare control for displaying an orientation icon in respective displayforms corresponding to the first orientation and the second orientation.14. The imaging apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the firstorientation is a vertical orientation, and the second orientation is ahorizontal orientation different 90° from the first orientation.
 15. Acontrol method for an imaging apparatus, the control method comprising:detecting an orientation of the imaging apparatus; and when anorientation change from a first orientation to a second orientation ofthe imaging apparatus is detected, performing control based on thesecond orientation after the orientation change in a case where a speedof the orientation change is higher than a predetermined speed, andperforming control based on the first orientation even after theorientation change in a case where the speed of the orientation changeis lower than or equal to the predetermined speed.
 16. A non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium storing computer-executableinstructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer toperform a method for a display control apparatus for controllingdisplaying of a display unit, the method comprising: detecting anorientation of the display control apparatus; and when an orientationchange from a first orientation to a second orientation of the displaycontrol apparatus is detected, performing display control based on thesecond orientation after the orientation change in a case where a speedof the orientation change is higher than a predetermined speed, andperforming display control based on the first orientation even after theorientation change in a case where the speed of the orientation changeis lower than or equal to the predetermined speed.
 17. A non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium storing computer-executableinstructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer toperform a method for an imaging apparatus, the method comprising:detecting an orientation of the imaging apparatus; and when anorientation change from a first orientation to a second orientation ofthe imaging apparatus is detected, performing control based on thesecond orientation after the orientation change in a case where a speedof the orientation change is higher than a predetermined speed, andperforming control based on the first orientation even after theorientation change in a case where the speed of the orientation changeis lower than or equal to the predetermined speed.